According to a major report published by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) 740,000 households are living in unsafe rental homes with serious problems such as rat infestations and damp. The CAB says landlords are raking in £5.6 billion a year for properties classed in the most severe category, a figure that includes £1.3 billion in housing benefit.

Serious Issues in Private Rental Sector says CAB
The CAB highlights a number of serious issues in the worst housing stock. It says 8% of private rented homes have serious damp problems, 6% are very cold and 16% are physically unsafe, compared to 6% of social housing. Despite these problems, tenants are paying on average £157 per week.

The government has given local authorities powers to tackle the problem of rogue landlords but the CAB doesn’t think it is doing enough:

“The government has rightly said it wants to tackle the country’s housing crisis – it must make targeting dodgy landlords, giving tenants better rights and driving up standards a major part of that effort.”

The NLA Responds
The National Landlords Association (NLA), citing statistics from the English Housing Survey, has issued a statement in response to the CB report.

“What this [the English Housing Survey] shows is that private housing is far from the CAB’s assertion of a market that is ‘failing systematically to deliver what consumers want’. Those who suffer at the hands of the criminal and negligent minority do so because of widespread failure of local councils to commit resources to enforcing the laws that already exist against poor landlords and criminal standards, and because of the failure of successive governments to incentivise the building of much needed homes that would relieve the pressure on the whole housing market.”

There is a serious shortage of housing in London and with prices rising all the time, most people on the lookout for rental accommodation in the capital are usually willing to put up with less than perfect properties. We have seen adverts for bedsits barely large enough to swing a cat in, but one enterprising landlord has recently taken things to a whole new level by adverting a ‘bed in a shared kitchen’.

Living in a Kitchen
The ad, which appeared on property website, spareroom.com, described a single bed in a shared kitchen (the two bedrooms are already occupied). The would-be tenant would be given three shelves in one of the kitchen cupboards to store their belongings. A separate entrance to the bed-in-a-kitchen is available from the garden. The flat has a bathroom, but no living room, so the only communal area is the kitchen.

Presumably the new tenant would have to OK with the idea of the flat’s other residents cooking food a short distance away from their bed, although the fridge in close proximity so it would be very convenient if they liked snacking at night.

What a Bargain!
This very attractive accommodation is available for a bargain sum of £400 per month, with one month’s rent payable up front. Not surprisingly, since the ad went ‘live’ and attracted a huge amount of negative publicity, it has since been removed by the website owners, who described the advert as ‘one of the most bizarre they have ever seen’.

Recent changes to the rules surrounding pensions have made it a lot easier for pensioners to access their pot of money. Previously, most people used their pension money to buy an annuity once they reached retirement age. Now pensioners are free to do whatever they like with their money: buy a Porsche, go on a round-the-world cruise, or invest in a buy to let property.

Affordability Issues
However, just because pensioners are now free to invest in rental property, it doesn’t mean they can afford to. One of the UK’s leading provider’s of buy to let mortgages is claiming that the majority of pensioners won’t have enough spare cash to put down an average deposit of £43k.

Kensington Survey
Kensington Mortgages carried out a survey on 915 savers, which showed that 54% of respondents aged 40 and over would consider investing in buy to let, but with lenders requiring a minimum deposit of 25 per cent, many won’t want to tie up their cash. Despite this, 28% don’t know how to apply for a mortgage.

According to a spokesman from Kensington: “Raising a 25% deposit for a buy to let mortgage from pension funds will be tough as a look at average property prices across the country shows. Would-be landlords will need to be realistic and it is worrying that so many are considering buy to let without knowing how to apply for a mortgage.”

Many would-be landlords surveyed by Kensington were concerned about whether a buy to let investment property would generate enough income.

The Green Party have published their 2015 manifesto in advance of the General Election and it’s not looking good for landlords. The Greens have described their policies as ”making renting normal” but the National Landlords Association (NLA) disagrees, instead describing the Green policies as “an attack on landlords”.

What are the Green Party’s Manifesto Proposals?
• Rent controls linked to consumer price index

• ‘Living Rent’ tenancies, which include a 5 year fixed tenancy agreement

• Introduction of not-for-profit letting agencies

• Mandatory licensing scheme for landlords

• Abolition of various tax breaks for landlords

• Establishment of Living Rent Commission to see if local rents can be brought in line with local income averages

NLA View on the Green Proposals
The NLA is not happy with these proposals.

“This manifesto does not appear to take a balanced view of the PRS. The Green Party appear to want people to rent however does not take into account the demands on landlords to provide safe and decent housing for those families.”

They are also concerned that the introduction of five-year tenancies will reduce flexibility within the private rental sector and doesn’t take into account the fact that tenants are already free to ask for longer tenancies if required.

The NLA is also concerned at the prospect of the removal of landlord tax breaks. Many landlords rely on tax breaks to make their businesses viable and if these tax breaks were no longer available, some landlords would have no choice but to leave the private rental sector.

Ending a tenancy is not just a case of asking a tenant to leave. Landlords have to follow strict protocols if they want to take possession of their property – if they fail to follow the correct procedure they will fall foul of the law and could face all kinds of problems.

There are two ways for a landlord to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy: Issuing a Section 21 notice is the normal route for the landlords, but they can also use a section 8 notices in specific circumstances, usually if there are rent arrears.

Changes to Section 8 Notices
New legislation came into force on Monday 6th April, which landlords need to be aware of. The wording of Section 8 notices has changed, so if you have any of the old forms in your possession, you should destroy them immediately. New Section 8 forms, with the revised wording, are available for download online.

New Section 8 notices must be used from now onwards. If you inadvertently use one of the old forms the case could be thrown out of court in the event you need to apply for a Possession Order. If you served a Section 8 notice before Monday 6th April, there won’t be a problem as long as the notice was served correctly.

Changes Section 13 notices
Section 13 notices are used if you need to notify a tenant of a rent increase. The wording of Section 13 notices has also been revised, so once again, get rid of any old forms you have and download new ones. Section 13 notices should always be used if the tenancy doesn’t contain a rent review clause.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is concerned about Liverpool Council’s plans to launch its citywide landlord licensing scheme on April 1. The NLA says the current license application process would put local landlords in breach of the law. As such, the NLA is extremely concerned.

The problem apparently relates to the online application process, which according to the NLA does not meet legal requirements. The NLA has sought legal advice and is now demanding that Liverpool City Council postpones its plans to launch the scheme until the problems have been resolved.

Liverpool City Council Puts Landlords in Impossible Position
“After seeking legal advice, we believe that the Council has failed to meet its obligations in providing a suitable application process which meets the requirements as set out in law, yet it intends to make it an offence to manage an unlicensed property next week,” says Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA.

“This puts landlords in an impossible position of being unable to comply with the scheme, and consequently unable to use a section notice 21 to gain possession of a property.”

NLA Advises Landlords to Download Application Form
The NLA is advising landlords to avoid the online application form and download one instead. The form can be filled out manually and returned to Liverpool City Council for processing. This will prevent landlords from being put at risk of not complying with the scheme

The NLA has challenged Liverpool City Council to come up with a suitable solution before April 1, but as yet, it has not had a reply.

Thanks to high property prices and stringent requirements set by lenders, a whole generation of people is being forced into the private rental sector because unlike their parents, they can’t afford to buy a home. But is this a bad thing?

Apparently not, according to an article written by Mark Coulter, Managing Director of a leading Edinburgh estate agent. He says there are a number of reasons why renting a home as opposed to buying one is the smart choice for many, in particular young professionals and workers who need flexibility.

The High Cost of Buying a Home
There are many costs associated with buying a property: stamp duty, solicitor’s fees, mortgage fees, survey and valuation fees, and of course raising a large deposit. All of this has to be paid up front and for younger, first time buyers it is a huge financial outlay at a time when they don’t have much money. And to make matters worse, a lot of young people change jobs frequently in the early years, so the prospect of moving house and incurring the same costs all over again, is not an attractive one.

The Benefits of Renting Set to Increase
Many experts believe that the benefits of renting will only increase as time goes on. They predict that capital growth will be a lot more modest over the next few years, so people will have even less of an incentive to buy instead of rent. Even security of tenure shouldn’t be an issue with good tenants, as many landlords are more than happy to extend shorthold tenancies for several years.

Landlords have won an important victory after the Minster of State, Brandon Lewis, has announced some major reforms to Selective Licensing. The changes mean that local authorities will no longer have the power to implement borough or citywide blanket licensing schemes.

Reforms Come into Effect in April 2015
The reforms, which will come into effect on April 1st, are largely as a result of intensive lobbying by landlord groups such as the National Landlords Association. The NLA published a report in February that highlighted problems with licensing schemes.

“We’ve argued solidly since 2010 that councils have been abusing their power to push through blanket licensing schemes. Today’s announcement means that if a council intends to licence a large proportion of its housing it will first need to show the case stands up to independent scrutiny.

“Landlords are getting fed up with being unfairly targeted and made responsible for problems such as anti-social behaviour when in reality they have little effective control over the issue, except by eviction. Hopefully this now means that councils who are serious about tackling poor property standards and anti-social behaviour will first look to the extensive existing legal powers they already have to combat the issues.”

New Rules for Local Councils
Licensing schemes have become increasingly popular since 2010, but with new rules in place, councils will have to seek government approval of the selective licensing scheme would cover more than 20% of private rental homes or the council’s geographic area.

The Residential Landlords Association is also welcoming the changes.

According to Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North, neighbours of anti-social households need more rights. He is campaigning for the law to change so that the housing ombudsman can intervene when problems arise between neighbours and landlords.

A Bill to Settle Disputes
Mr De Bois tabled his ten-minute rule Housing Ombudsman (Power to Settle Disputes Between Neighbours and Tenants) bill on Tuesday. As the rules currently stand, the housing ombudsman can only get involved when there is a dispute between a landlord and a tenant. If Mr De Bois has his way, the ombudsman will be able to intervene when there is a dispute between a landlord of an HMO and neighbours.

Absentee Landlords to be Held Responsible
Under the terms of the bill, absentee landlords will be held responsible if there are problems with their tenants and the ombudsman will have the power to track down landlords and force them to enter into negotiations with fed-up neighbours.

“Presently it can be very hard to even try to locate and identify landlords when residents are seeking to enlist landlord help in resolving what can be a very disturbing cycle of anti-social behaviour, that all too often take too long for authorities to sort out, if at all,” said Mr De Bois.

“I want to put a stop to this, by giving the neighbours who are the victims of anti-social behaviour the right to deal with the landlord of properties – which I believe will help resolve the problem in a more timely fashion. Good landlords will want to stop bad behaviour if they are aware of it, and where there are landlords that don’t care then this bill will force them to take action.”